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February 2007 Issue

Helping the people of Afghanistan and the US Army with 1,500 pairs of reading glasses shipped from our Santa Rosa facility

"Less than 50% of the population is literate, so every child that we help learn to read will have a lasting effect as they can pass it on to the next generation. The service that the glasses provide to these people truly cannot be measured, but we have noted people continuing to use them as we travel among the villages in the Pech Valley " stated Captain Andrew Knight , U.S. Army 1-32 INF.

Coalition Forces living amongst the people of the Pech River Valley , Kunar , Afghanistan have addressed many past problems facing the poverty stricken rural population. Soldiers from Combat Company, 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry, while maintaining their vigilant presence on the road, have engaged many local leaders to gain an understanding of the people and identify future needs. Due to the location of many villages in this remote portion of Afghanistan , there is no availability of qualified optometrists. To counter this need the Combat Company formed an alliance with Partners in Restoring Vision and Improving Lives (PRVAIL), a U.S. based organization, to provide reading glasses to the people.

Fort Docs , a Santa Rosa , CA based document management company, has partnered with PRVAIL for the past 2 ½ years providing its warehouse storage and services pro bono. John Becker, President of Fort Docs, stated that "Over the past two years we have received, stored and shipped over 250,000 pairs of reading and sun glasses to groups pursuing vision improvement missions in over 50 countries around the world." Fort Docs receives, stores, packs and ships all glasses to help those with vision impairment in their quest to read and lead more meaningful and productive lives.

Mark Sachs, Executive Director of PRVAIL adds: "For many economically disadvantaged people around the world a pair of reading glasses can make the difference between absolute poverty and some level of economic independence or education. We have received wonderful stories from our partners of these sorts of miracles. One of our favorites was the story of a young Central American girl who was able to return to school because the reading glasses allowed her grandmother, who made her living sewing, to once again thread her own needles."

Fort Docs and PRVAIL continue to source and ship reading and sun glasses from U.S. based manufacturers and distribute them to qualified groups dispensing medical and optical services around the world. For more information on how you can join in our efforts please visit the PRVAIL website:

Interested in Learning more about PRVAIL?

Information, photos and other information on PRVAIL is available at their website.

http://www.restoringvision.org/

We at Fort Docs wish you a prosperous year.

Thank you,

The Fort Docs Team
“The Gold Standard in Document Management”